Dreadnought: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken [Private]

[Okada Kaji]

Continued from: Dreadnought [ANBU Mission]

The chill still ran through Kaji Okada’s bones. The sensation remained despite being so many leagues away from the frigid domain where his recon team encountered the Dreadnought. Somehow, that fortress-at-sea created an aura colder than the highest peaks of Momento Deo. It must have been magical in nature, or so Kaji considered. It left him chilled and with teeth chattering despite being in the warmth of the village’s heart underground. Only hours had passed since that encounter, and the team made a beeline back to the Hidden Cloud from Port Cirrus via railway.

Since returning, Kaji recommended the team disperse for two hours to venture home. It was a time for putting on new attire free of damage and bloodstains. Time for a short rest, and to put some warm food in their bellies before what might have become a night full of more work. As the survivors of the encounter, they were the heralds of a potential disaster waiting beyond the gulf and had to prepare reports as soon as possible. As their leader, Kaji was first to arrive at the Headquarters within the ANBU facilities, formerly known as the Sennin’s Office.

Kaji Okada was sporting another model of uniform, slightly older than the flak jacket he wore during the mission. Underneath the vest was a loose-fitting, hooded wool jacket in steel gray with rolled sleeves. Eelspine was mounted to his back in-sheathe. He even wore a head protector, though it was actually to keep the gauze covering his temple wound from that club bash in-place. His shoulder-length raven blades of hair were bound in a knot above the bandana, with loose strands falling over the crimson fabric. His lower half was adorned in loose-fitting slacks in charcoal and snug combat boots he never planned on breaking in.

He was in the center of the large room, sprawling new and old sea charts on the roundtable, preparing to pinpoint the location of their encounter. Then, he began breaking out history books and scrolls. Kaji’s efforts were to gather everything the HQ had on the Water Country’s naval history and military, which seemed to be quite limited. With the combination of his squadmates, he’d be better equipped to analyze their experience and prepare a better plan of action to present to their commander, the Raikage.

- Kaji Okada has entered the thread.
- Requesting Ayumu.
- Thread Access Granted to Hoshi, Miraku, and Shu.
- Sileo Tempestas Access granted to Cloud Sennin for Dreadnought threads.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Wonders would never cease when it came to the shinobi world, it seemed. Terrible, awful wonders. Prior to today, reports of the phenomenon Port Cirrus locals had called The Dreadnought had been founded upon rumors alone. Since Kaji had brought it to his attention, Ayumu had heard the tales of ships lost at sea and sea life found unnaturally frozen as of late. Tall tales like these weren't uncommon for sailors to return to port with. Seldom was there any merit to them, but the rumors had gained enough traction that even Kumogakure was forced to take notice. Kaji had assembled a team of ANBU to take to the sea and investigate the oddity personally. Little had they known they would be woefully undermanned for what awaited them beyond the shroud of mist.

Ayumu had been notified upon the ANBU team's return, hearing that the group had come back a little roughed up to say the least. If that alone wasn't enough to pique his interest, he had been told that they had returned with a supposedly living corpse encased within a large block of ice. Well, this coupled with the bizarre rumors from before was more than enough to warrant an explanation. Deep within the familiar halls of the Sileo Tempestas, Ayumu was told that Kaji was awaiting him for a debriefing. Ayumu couldn't help but feel a tinge of nostalgia as he once more entered the heart of the Sileo where once he made his office and spent the majority of his time. Passing through the doors, Ayumu found Kaji not waiting but actively gathering reference materials in preparation.

"Sounds like you guys had a rough go of it out there," Ayumu said as he entered. Though as usual he wore the uniform he had adorned ever since his time as the Main Branch Sennin, much of it was obscured by his coat. The coat was a dark garnet red with gold trim and extended to about his knees in length. Having only just come in from the cold a couple minutes ago, he had only just now unbuttoned the front. Yet, despite Ayumu having just come in, Kaji seemed by far the more chilled. Ayumu raised an eyebrow as he noticed the obvious discomfort.

"I'm hoping you can explain why there is a corpse popsicle in the Aesculapium? The curiosity is killing me... no pun intended," Ayumu added as he glanced around at the scrolls and sea charts Kaji had spread out. Unfortunately it seemed his curiosity would have to wait a bit longer as it seemed that somebody else was approaching to join them. As usual, Ayumu was not expecting good news.

 

[Miraku]

After returning from their mission via the train, the group was given permission to scatter and return to their homes momentarily in order to gather themselves and prepare to debrief and explore future options in dealing with the threat that was awaiting them. Miraku decided to take this opportunity to return to his residence and change clothes. The cold air mixed with the ocean waters had covered him in residue which he didn't particularly enjoy coating him, especially if they were going to be talking to the Raikage; being dressed better was something he thought was important, at least to him. Changing into more general shinobi attire, fitting of one at Jounin rank, he suited up and headed out, covering up with a warm jacket with a fur-lined hood which he could use to cover up on his way to the Sileo Tempestas.

Leaving his home, he quickly headed out towards the mountains where the ANBU base would await him, hopefully with their leader and possibly others waiting or even planning already for what was on the horizon. Deciding to move quickly, in hope of not being much later than the others, Miraku took off to a sprint through the streets, heading up to the rooftops to get through the village, and to his destination more hastily. Seeing the mountain in the distance, he leaned forward, to keep his hood on better, covering his appearance to anyone who may have spotted him on the move outside as well as he could.

Making his way into the Sileo Tempestas, it felt warmer inside, away from the winds outdoors, as Miraku had stopped sprinting, now walking down the halls, attempting to be respectful of where he was. not in a huge rush to head out for a mission or anything, he figured it was best to keep this pace on his way to the room where they would debrief. As he approached the room, he took in a deep breath and then exhaled, readying himself to face this problem head-on, and hopefully, come up with a plan which they could use to stop this monstrous force which they had managed to encounter at sea.

Opening the door to the room, and stepping inside, immediately, Miraku noticed the two people standing within the room. One was Yoake and the other obviously the Raikage who had made it there before him. Quickly, he shut the door behind himself and bowed in respect before his two superiors. "Lord Raikage. Captain Yoake," he said, acknowledging both of them as he stood before them for a moment before walking towards the table in the middle of the room to join the two of them and respond to any questions they would have, or give any input he could to help further whatever discussions were about to occur.

[Marked for Training; 470 WC]
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[Okada Kaji]

When Ayumu entered the chamber he discovered Kaji unfurling a large parchment sea chart on the room’s center table. Beside the parchment, he brought just a couple other drafting tools and the collection of books and scrolls relevant to their mission. Of course, he also had a steaming mug of coffee in an attempt to warm himself up. “That’s a fair assessment” answered Kaji as the venerable Raikage joined him. “The situation off the coast was much worse than we expected. When I was a youngling in Maruishi, the elders used to tell us the story of a monster called Cthulhu to keep us from swimming in the waters of Titan’s Keep, the capital city’s port. I would’ve preferred Cthulhu to what we found— an army.” And if only he was joking.

And then Miraku arrived, still making good-time with all things considered. “You’re right on time, Soku” Kaji replied, keeping to the use of Miraku’s codename out of respect. “The big ice block is one of the enemy soldiers we had the luck to apprehend during our withdrawal. ‘I promise it's nothing inhumane, as the soldiers were already dead when we encountered them.”

As he went on with this explanation, Kaji dragged a black tarp off of a crystal platform at the center of the large table. The crystal was translucent with a rainbow of colors in fragments within and frayed out into several directions. It was a device of shinobi design, constructed with chakra for a single purpose and mounted on a base with glyphs engraved on it. This statue-like device had a crystalline growth embedded in the table in a smooth, thin line, which led to a circular seal at the table’s edge drawn with black ink. “I was hoping for a chance to use this thing at some point” Kaji revealed, though the situation kept him from feeling any excitement for the new mystical tech. “Courtesy of Research & Development; I present the Crystal of Scrying.”

And Kaji proceeded to string together a combination of hand seals before pressing a flat palm onto the seal. The entire device began to illuminate with the power of his chakra, tinted slightly green from the influence. Kaji focused his thoughts as he recalled the events typically contained within a snapshot jutsu. “The anbu cell encountered a warship much larger than anything ever produced by any navy on record. The Dreadnought was a war machine surrounded by ice caps and an aura of chilling chakra which made engaging the ship next to impossible. And to make matters worse, it was manned by what felt like an unending horde of rotting soldiers like the one we brought back with us.” A hologram of vivid light glowed over the table, resembling a miniature aurora borealis within the room. Everything Kaji was describing could be seen in striking detail, including the gargantuan bone behemoth nearly stomping him flat. “Despite what we saw, I have my doubts that it's the worst of what the Dreadnought is capable of… they wouldn’t pull out the stops just for four shinobi.”

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Hoshi departed from the crew after being relieved. Before heading home he made sure he had some grub. Deli district had a noodle shop that sounding filling and made the ravenous Shinobi salivate at the thought. He ordered his favorite dish, ate it on spot enjoying it while it was fresh. He tipped a rather hefty amount and darted home.

At his abode, his personal loft not the estate, he would get caught up in too many household chores and never make it back on time. Hoshi took a ten minute shower in warm water and washed his thick black hair. He adorned some normal chuunin clothing after drying. A flak jacket, light weight, and stylish in blood orange teamed with a grey and sky blue stripe from the shoulder seam, down.

He downed some dark grey fitted ninja joggers, great for flexibility and mobility. He donned some black ninja sandals. Hoshi then headed out to headquarters. After dealing with a crowd and at high speed ninja traveling via roof top, he reached the entrance. Hoshi exhaled deeply and entered and maneuvered his way to the designated location. The Raikage, Yoake and Soku were already in attendance, Hoshi had come in at the end of the conversation.

The entire playback was live and in view. Something just recent reminded the boy of how chilling the entire event was. He scoffed at the giant once it came into view and announced himself amongst his superiors.

“Tch. Yeah I got a bone to pick with that guy.”

Hoshi bowed.

“Yoake, Soku-San, Ayumu-Sama.”

After greeting everyone Hoshi would mean against a pillar.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Kaji was by no means hiding the fact that his group had seen better days, calling Ayumu's assessment "fair". "From the sounds of it, perhaps that was an understatement," Ayumu commented briefly before Kaji continued. He spoke of an army. Had it not been for the comparison to Cthulhu, Ayumu might have expected a regular navy. This, however, sounded like it was going to be something else entirely. As Miraku and Hoshi arrived Ayumu nodded at each of them in greeting, but remained silent so that Kaji could continue with the debriefing. The corpse popsicle, as Ayumu had called it, apparently contained one of the soldiers the group had faced at sea yet something Kaji had said did not add up. This was a solider they had apprehended... but he was already dead when they encountered him? Ayumu didn't like the implications of that one bit.

He watched as Kaji uncovered a unique looking device and gave it a name which sounded familiar. Likely it had been something Ayumu had see on a piece of paper that came across his desk at some point, but its purpose was lost to him at the moment. He continued to observe with some interest as Kaji activated the device with chakra and used it to project his snapshot footage as a hologram. "Kudos to R&D," Ayumu remarked, admiring their handywork. Yet, there was not much time for admiration before something much more insane followed. The things he would see, while not comparing to the actual memories the men in attendance carried, were deeply unsettling. Kaji narrated as Ayumu witnessed an ship of unfathomable size armed with enormous crossbows and packed to the brim with shambling corpse soldiers. Perhaps even scarier was the monster formed from dead sealife inexplicably joined together standing taller even than the ship.

"Holy shit," Ayumu couldn't help but say. "That thing is enormous... both of them. 'Worse than expected' might be the understatement of a lifetime," he said, still letting the sights he was seeing in the images digest. The vague rumors that had prompted the investigation had led them to send a team massively under-prepared for what they had encountered. From the sound of things, they had made it out by the skin of their teeth. Ominously, Kaji predicted that despite the horrors they had faced, the worst was yet to come. Ayumu couldn't argue that assessment. They had already underestimated the enemy once. To think they had seen it all now would be foolhardy. He crossed his arms and let out a long, silent breath as he processed the information he had been confronted with. It was certainly overwhelming, to say the least. There was plenty of reason to be deeply worried, but no time for it.

"That all of you repelled their attacks and returned alive despite being blindsided by overwhelming odds speaks volumes about your individual abilities," Ayumu said, looking to each of the men present. The ANBU were often touted to be the best of the best. Retreating was not glamorous, but given the circumstances they had faced, including a literal army and a giant, it seemed nearly a miracle they had managed to do so. "It also speaks to the resourcefulness of Kumogakure as a whole. While as you say we haven't likely seen the worst, they haven't seen our full capabilities yet either and we won't underestimate them again," he continued. If there was one thing Ayumu had a solid grasp on, it was faith in his village.

"So we need to decide our next step. I imagine you have been thinking about this long and hard," Ayumu said, looking to Kaji. He had a feeling the man had more still to say.

 

[Miraku]

As the three of them stood in the room, Kaji continued to speak to them as he pulled off a tarp of some kind from on top of an object on the table. Pulling it off, he revealed a strange looking object, of which Miraku had never seen before. He called it the 'Crystal of Scrying'. The phrase sounded interesting, and would certainly match what was about to happen, as Kaji would place his hand on the table after performing a few seals, causing it to light up, the room filling with a slight green hue. Suddenly visible to everyone was visuals of their units encounter in the ocean from Kaji's point of view. It was certainly an incredible sight to behold in front of them. As the snapshot played out, suddenly Hoshi came into the room. From what Miraku had understood, he was supposed to be heading into examine the frozen zombie soon, so he wasn't sure exactly why he was here at this moment, maybe just popping in before heading out there? Or maybe a change in plans had happened. Either way, he returned his attention to the show before him, as Kaji viewed the behemoth the group had encountered. Ayumu seemed slightly surprised by the things he was seeing, giving comments as he watched on. By the end, the reason for their missions outcome was obvious, even though it stung that it had turned out that way.

Lord Raikage certainly seemed sure that their village would be able to handle this threat, even though they weren't sure what the enemy was fully capable of. But even if they had to throw everything they could at it, they wouldn't give in that easy. This was certainly a serious threat, and one that would surely be dealt with soon enough, of that Miraku felt sure, or at least he told himself that. Miraku decided to chime in a bit, "I'm also slightly curious if they have any connection to Kirigakure or Water Country in general. On our way back, Byakko told us a phrase he had heard what appeared to be their leader say. Although none of us knew what they were saying, the language sounded similar to what I've heard my parents speak; both of whom are from Water Country originally. That coupled with the extreme cold coming from their ship which is in some ways similar to that of the reason Water Country is uninhabitable. At least it felt similar, as someone who has been to Water Country a few times." he told them, airing out his current thoughts. "Although they could just be coincidences or unrelated. It's hard to say."

He did agree that they would need to come up with a plan to deal with this threat, but he was also curious about their mysterious powers, especially if they actually did have anything to do with Water Country. Miraku was also curious about what Kaji's current thoughts on the enemy and how to deal with them, waiting intently for his follow up to Ayumu's last statement.

[Marked for Training; 511 WC]
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[Okada Kaji]

“There is certainly more to this than meets the eye” Kaji answered, summarizing a response to both Ayumu and Miraku. “We have so much intel from the encountered, but it's all still jumbled knowledge; pieces of the puzzle. Our only trace of an origin lies in the Water Country, as you and Byakko assessed. While the Dreadnought wasn’t something we’d ever expect to see from any known shinobi village, it was backed by some ninjutsu; hopefully, with origins that we can trace.” Utilizing the technology of the crystal of scrying, Kaji was able to loop the feed on views of the wight horde charge on their team, around the time they made first contact. “Our team working at the Aescepulium will hopefully uncover something from studying the soldier; maybe something in his DNA like the expiration date, or the type of necromancy developed to animate the body. With a little luck, we might have some useful records on hand about these techniques.” Kaji couldn’t even pretend to understand the basics of reanimation techniques besides the obvious physical aspects of getting a body to move. Those soldiers were almost as effective as genuine living warriors, but many of them fought without eyes to see with or functional lungs to breathe.

But then Kaji’s attention shifted to Hoshi, who had appeared suddenly, unexpectedly. “While we’re on the subject of the Aescepulium team— yea, Hoshi, weren’t you meant to be present for the examination? ‘Not here.” Kaji practically shot icicles at Hoshi with his cold glare, taking this moment of impending crisis seriously. However his glaring was short-lived as Kaji returned focus to their troubles at hand.

“As for the Dreadnought itself— that ship is packing some serious power; at least, too much for a single anbu squad to handle.” Seeming rather adept with the scrying crystal, Kaji continued to making waving motions over the seal itself, making different motions to cycle through the vision and focus on what he wanted to show. He focused attention back on the behemoth which nearly ran down Her Lucky Bones. “Vast terrain control, mass reanimation, and organized, formidable defenses were the weapons in our enemy’s arsenal. The cold made it almost impossible for us to fight properly; the air was barely breathable. As for our bone creature— it was a huge boon for the Dreadnought, but it must have taken a lot of time to gather that much organic material from the sea; orcas included. Reports suggest that the ship was already out there for weeks before we caught wind of it. Maybe it's all a defensive posture— the cold and the bones; but for what?” He had to pause and let the speculation set in even though he already reached his own thesis. “Building a force that size just outside the waters of Port Cirrus suggests an invasion strategy... and showing up with their own forces; an army for expanding their efforts onto the streets and holding the city.”

The chill only worsened in that room. With their own shinobi to oppose the dreadnought, the Hidden Cloud could potentially stand a chance against in defending the port city— but what if an invasion began without notice? “I feel certain in saying that uncovering the Dreadnought may have moved up the timetable for whatever that ship was intended for. We haphazardly made the first move, and now it’s their turn.”

wc575mft

 

[Miraku]

Miraku listened as Kaji continued speaking on the matters at hand. As he spoke of the others from their group working on uncovering anything about the reanimated being they had brought back with them, he hoped it would reveal something. With that, it reminded him that Hoshi was supposed to be heading there, which caused Miraku to chuckle slightly internally, not wanting to show such a feature with such a somber tone to the room. Hoshi would surely be quick to leave following the exchange.

Getting back to the Dreadnought, talk of its capabilities and speculation followed. It took him back to the encounter, going over each moment in his head, trying to notice anything he hadn't originally while listening to Kaji speak further. An invasion sounded likely. A force that size holding its ground out there, not allowing vessels to pass which make them blind to anything which would approach by water until it was too late. But how close were they to such an event occurring? It had taken them some time to follow up on the rumours, and how long had it been before the rumours had gained any traction? It was hard to say for sure how much time they really had.

If it really was an invasion plan, then what Kaji finished with would most definitely be true. Engaging their ship and making it out alive meant that they no longer had the element of total surprise, and would need to speed up their plans, or at least send reinforcements to maintain their position until ready, and they would have no idea how many enemies awaited them on their next assault. Miraku nodded in agreement with the sentiment. "It's also possible that they could attack from other areas of the country, or even that the Dreadnought was a distraction to divert us from their true intentions. Though I tend to agree that this points towards an invasion of some kind." he told the group as he removed his arms from his pockets, crossing them with his fingers under his pits, thinking to himself.

With thoughts on an impending invasion, Miraku's mind switched to thinking about ideas on how to deal with such threats. "Certainly if they are going to invade, we need a plan to repel them. Our biggest disadvantage against them besides our lack of knowledge on their plan has to be the cold, correct?" He posed to them, more rhetorical than truly a question. "What we experienced first hand would hinder some of our forces to the point where they would find it difficult to even put up a fight. It's definitely something we need to neutralize somehow if we want to stand a chance." He finished, curious what they thought. Of course, there was always fire based jutsu and the like to help, but maybe something else could be worked on, but that was out of Miraku's wheelhouse.

[Marked for Training; 486 WC]
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[Kogami Ayumu]

Miraku raised an interesting point, bringing up something Ayumu had not heard about yet. The leader had apparently spoken in a tongue that sounded similar to the native language of Water Country. Paired with the supernatural cold that seemed to emanate from the ship, it seemed possible that there could be some connection there.

”That seems plausible, though what happened to Water Country was a much grander scale. It could be related,” Ayumu commented. If it was related, the threat could be even larger than imagined, but there was no solid evidence of that yet. Kaji continued, speculating that the phenomenon surrounding the Dreadnaught might be caused by Ninjutsu. Despite how powerful it might have been, Ayumu hoped that this was the case. If it was Ninjutsu, it meant that it was within the realm of their capabilities to defeat it.

Kaji’s hope was that the medical shinobi of the Aesculapium could shed some light on the sample they had brought back. It was fortunate that they had at least been able to procure that sample for the Med-nin to study. Unbeknownst to Ayumu it was his fiancee who was studying the corpse at that very moment. Ayumu fought the impulse to snicker as Hoshi was scolded and dismissed before Kaji went on to talk about the ship. It was powerful, that much Ayumu had seen from the images replayed for him. Kaji recounted the various advantages the enemey had including not only the ship, the giant, and the undead, but the weather itself. The next speculation was on their intent. Nobody knew for sure what the undead had planned, but their gathering near the port could not be a coincidence in Ayumu’s mind. Port Cirrus was likely in peril. Miraku suggested that other areas could also be in danger and doubled up on the threat of the cold. Ayumu thought to himself for a moment before finally speaking.

"Port Cirrus has to be their first target. If they take it, that will be their entry point to continue inland. We need to treat this as an act of war and gather our forces, more than a single ANBU squad, to counter their numbers in the next engagement. Have them equipped for the harsh conditions now that we know to some extent what to expect. Conventional wisdom would suggest that we fight ice with fire... or any jutsu capable of producing immense heat. We need firepower, and I don't just mean the element... I don’t mind getting my hands dirty myself for this one,” Ayumu said, wringing said hands. There was no room to underestimate the enemy or hold back. They needed to use the force that Kumogakure was capable of to combat this threat.

”In the meantime we need our people to monitor the status of the port. If the enemy attacks, we should know about it as soon as possible. We need to react quickly, though it may be too late to get there in time,” he went on. Their intelligence network would have agents in the port already. Hopefully they would be swift in sending out any warnings to the village.

”If that’s the case, we may be forced to retake the port.”

 

[Okada Kaji]

So it had come to this; preparations for what felt like a secret war on the horizon with a nigh unpredictable enemy. The closer they got to understanding the wights and who controlled them, the greater chance they stood of learning how to fight their enemy. “It’s really like something out of a horror film,” said Kaji, who was full of lament at the idea of their enemy staging a siege. “If we can figure out how the corpses are being stimulated we might be able to counter them… though, I’m more concerned if whatever is animating them could work against our people as well.” Port Cirrus contained one of the largest populations in the country and was primarily defended by maritime forces of the Lightning Country’s Navy and a City Guard ill-equipped for this kind of threat. “Odds are the ships in the port will try to scramble into a defensive formation if they catch wind of the Dreadnought approaching… I’m sure they’d ramp up security if we shared what we found out there— perhaps they can keep the fight offshore, hopefully minimizing casualties.” Another battle at sea was anything but inviting to Kaji, but having warships of their own might add some much-needed balance to a battle.

So Kaji Okada took some wooden tokens in hand and looked over one of the maps he had on hand; one of Port Cirrus with its large coastal edge at the center of it. The tokens were all simple shapes reflecting ships and a block representing a land structure. It looked like the setup for a board game pitting battleships against each other, but it would do the job. “I’m not sure how quickly we could pop up an outpost in Port Cirrus—” a detail that was certainly out of his pay grade as an ANBU Vice Commander; it left him quiet for a beat. Ayumu declared the need to roll out forces to Port Cirrus, and that would be done. “We’ll need a squadron of some high-power elementalists best-suited for countering the weather, resourceful enough to secure the Port until we manage something permanent— if there’s time for that.” Moving enough power to make a difference into position came first, so much that Ayumu considered deploying as well. While it was inspiring to hear the Raikage talk of stepping onto the frontlines, it was the role of shinobi like Kaji and Miraku to see to their leader’s safety so that he might lead. Nervously and pragmatically, Kaji put more thought into setting up an outpost worth commanding a siege defense. Scratching his brow, Kaji considered how he never knew a Kage who was shy towards battle, they were always the types to lead by example. “We should have Operatives en route for Port Cirrus by the day’s end, ready to plant their heels for a campaign.”

- Creating Modded Port Cirrus Outpost Mission for All Branches.
- The Adventure Continues.
- Thread left unless stopped, which wouldn't be an issue at all.